What is the fluffy polishing pad for?

With any orbital polisher action (whether it be a Random Orbital polisher or a gear-driven / Forced Dual Action polisher), the pad is never truly &#;spinning&#; like it would be on a rotary buffer, minimizing (basically eliminating) the risks associated with a high-speed pad edge. There&#;s much less of a difference in how much work the pad is doing between the center and the circumference&#;it&#;s a matter of a few %. Instead, the pad will be moving quite consistently in curly spiraled orbits across the entire face, effectively &#;oscillating&#; at the edge.

Wool pads would be less effective on an orbital polisher with their long strands since the wool would flop around with the small orbital action, rather than transferring it through to the paint surface and abrading as intended. That&#;s why microfiber pads have a significant advantage&#;the short pile microfiber strands are designed to be the right length to work with that tighter pattern and effectively cut the paint surface while still carrying a high quantity of cutting compound thanks to their exceptional surface area.

Some microfiber pads, such as the Lake Country HDO-550F pad, are designed with specializations such as a tapered edge profile (which helps with cutting into tighter areas and gives additional protection from the backing plate) and a center hole &#; helping with ventilation and cooling in the middle where, on an orbital pad, it&#;s doing a lot of work and potentially creating the most heat.

One minor &#;drawback&#; of microfiber pads is that it&#;s usually possible to see them leaving a faint haze behind, sometimes called &#;micromarring,&#; after the cutting stage. Do not be alarmed! This is extremely fine and will be easily polished away by any final finishing pad.

Of course, foam pads are also a natural fit to any orbital machine polisher, and this combination remains one of the most popular worldwide. Foam polishing pads are available with an extensive range of cutting and polishing characteristics to suit almost all occasions. Today&#;s pads have been designed with contours, tapers and profiles that maximize the convenience, comfort and control available to the user. The Lake Country Manufacturing HDO pad design is an example of a unique specialization that takes things even further&#;an overall quite thick construction combined with a pronounced tapered edge. This is good for safety and access, but introducing a dense sandwich layer helps ensure the full movement of the backing plate is transferred to the paint surface, without the flexing losses that a thicker, more cushioned foam would experience. HDO foam polishing pads have quickly become a favorite among Heavy Duty Orbital polisher users (15mm and up), although they will work great on any orbital machine.

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When polishing, there are many different ingredients that influence the end result. The four largest ingredients are the polisher, polishing paste, polishing pad and the lacquer or surface. In this blog we will go deeper into the different types of polishing pads. There are many different types of materials to polish with. For example sheep's wool, foam, microfiber, felt and denim. The first three are most commonly used. Time to highlight these three types.

WOOLPAD, A POLISHING PAD MADE OF SHEEPSKIN

A woolpad or sheepskin has an abrasive effect of its own. This is because the hairs have a very coarse structure. Woolpads are usually made of real sheepskin. In addition to these real sheepskins there are also woolpads that consist partly or even one hundred percent of synthetic hairs. In general the woolpads of real sheepskin perform best. With such a woolpad you can easily remove deep scratches.

Traditional woolpads can only be used on a rotating machine. They cannot handle the eccentric forces of a Dual Action machine. However, Cartec also has an Orbital Woolpad. This pad is suitable for use on an eccentric machine. The advantage of wool is that it generates less heat than a microfiber pad. Especially on gelcoat, wool gives the best results, as well as on very soft lacquers and sticky paint. To finish, a woolpad is less suitable because of small scratches that the hairs leave behind. It is best to use foam or microfiber for this.

Want to know more about different polishers? Read it here.

FOAM, AN ALL-ROUND POLISHING PAD

Foam comes in many different variations. From very hard to very soft foam and from very coarse to very fine cell structure. These variations can be combined infinitely. The harder the foam and the coarser the structure, the deeper the grinding force and the faster scratches can be removed. However, the risk of holograms increases enormously. The softer the foam and the finer the cell structure, the higher the gloss level and the fewer holograms. This in turn has a negative influence on the abrasive power.

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To choose the right pad, it is important to know what kind of lacquer is being worked on. A hard lacquer needs a different approach than a soft lacquer. It is essential for a manufacturer of polishing pastes to look for the right type of foam when developing. Cartec has a wide range of different foampads. These have been specially developed in combination with the polishing paste. For very coarse and deep polishing up to very fine and high gloss.

The green pad is most suitable for deep scratches and hard lacquers. The grey pad is most suitable for extreme gloss and soft lacquers. The yellow and white are in between. The yellow pad has a little more abrasive power, the white pad gives a little more gloss.

Fact: all Cartec foampads are reticulated. This means that the pads have an open cell structure. These are the advantages:

• The polishing product is absorbed more evenly and distributed over the pad. This gives a better result.
• There is less heat development during polishing.
• The pad is easier to clean.

Reticulating is an extra step in the process while making the pad. Gas is injected into the foam, after which it is detonated. This causes the cells to crack open, changing the structure of the pad. This benefits the result.

MICROFIBER PAD, FOR HIGH GLOSS CUTTING

Microfibre is a very nice material to polish with if the right quality is chosen. Like the woolpad, it has many hairs that absorb the product well. This makes the microfiber pad very suitable for cutting. At the same time, the hairs are a lot softer than wool. Because of this, besides the high cutting, a high shine can be achieved. Especially with eccentric polishing on deep scratches and hard lacquers, the microfiber pad comes into its own.

Learn more about removing scratches? Read all about it in this blog.

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